Japan, Taiwan should partner to invest

Presidential Office Secretary-General Yu Shyi-kun yesterday urged Japan to jointly invest in India or Southeast Asian countries with Taiwan to reduce the two countries's dependence on the Chinese market.

Yu made the appeal while receiving a Japanese delegation, headed by Akio Kousai, which was here to attend the 33rd East Asian Economic Conference to be held in Taipei today.

Yu said that during his April visit to Japan he suggested to then-Japanese minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Shoichi Nakagawa that both countries should cooperate under the framework of the APEC forum and the WTO by jointly investing in India or Southeast Asian countries, for example by establishing industrial zones, as part of their global investment deployment. This would also help them reduce investment risks and over-dependence on the Chinese market, he added.

Yu also urged both countries to resolve internal problems so that they can sign a free trade agreement (FTA) as soon as possible, which will help strengthen bilateral economic and trade exchanges.

Trade between Taiwan and Japan reached US$56.8 billion last year, accounting for 15 percent of Taiwan's total foreign trade.

In addition, so far this year, the number of Japanese tourists traveling to Taiwan topped 1 million last month, while the number of Taiwanese travelers to Japan is expected to reach 1.4 million soon.